Like: On first glance, it's a standard shounen story of a boy trying to follow his hero. But it quickly turns into an elaborate work of art that manages to create a truly unique world where giant robotic insects literally are after the soul of any living being. It essentially is a long, beautifully drawn declaration of love and admiration for delivery men and women.

Ending: Intriguing and, at best, a bittersweet one.

Recommend: Where else can you read about your (not-so-)average postman being the greatest hero that roams the country?

Name: Tokyo ESP

How I started: Was looking for a new action-based series and got hooked.

Like: Very much. Its premise is rather interesting, although not entirely new and the cast is well-balanced.

Ending: A bit rushed, as the final fight could have been extended by quite a bit. But the epilogue was good, managing to be both conclusive and open at the same time.

Recommend: Yes, it's an above-average series with a good length (76 chapters à 30-50 pages)

Name: Nisekoi

How I started: Was eager to read the latest work of Komi Naoshi.

Like: A typical RomCom that initially tried to not follow age-old patterns but, over time, used them all. A nice cast with lots of likeable characters and a multitude of a 'Face of the day' (which, along with Tsugumi, Ruri and Shuu, is for many the best part of the series)

Ending: Well-paced and tying all loose ends.

Recommend: If you liked Ichigo 100% or Love Hina, then this is something you shouldn't look over - especially considering how it went on to become the longest-running RomCom in WSJ.

Official member of theKiller Kick Course SquadTM courtesy by Arsonist Joe

currently reading:

Made in Abyss, Jigokuraku, Dorohedoro, One Punch-Man, Vinland Saga, Otoyomegatari

"And no offense but if Wolverine is the voice of reason AGAINST violence... I would take that VERY seriously." - Ironman(Avengers issue 4)

"These units are part of a Hive Mind. If we could keep one of them intact - BEN!!"Sorry, stretcho. My fists only got one setting: CLOBBERIN'!" - Mr. Fantastic and The Thing about giant octopus robots(Amazing Spider-Man issue 648)

"Listen you probably just saved me from having "killed by tentacles in a kiddie pool" carved onto my tombstone. Let me give you some advice. There is an astonishing amount of powerful people in this world, and a lot of them are flat-out crazy. So... Trust me... you will ALWAYS be in over your head. Always. Unless you're Thor." - Spider-Man giving Spider-Girl advice(Amazing Spider-Man 648)

"Girls! Can we not talk about my love life while I'm beating up gang bangers? Please?!" - Spider-Man to Black Cat and Norah Winter(Amazing Spider-Man 649)

"War Machine: Ugh.. Wh-where the hell... Braddock: Relax, James. We're on Hala. In prison. Valkyrie: Your injuries are severe and you must not dislodge McCoy's sutures.War Machine: W-where's my war machine armor? Valkyrie: In the wreckage of the quintjet War Machine: Wrecked quintjet, trapped in prison, and you lost my armor? Braddock: And they plan to execute us. Soon. And The Phoenix is headed here. War Machine: Wow. I mean.... WOW. I really thought a suicide mission to fight the damned Phoenix Force was as bad as things could get. You all somehow managed to make things worse." - Secret Avengers 27

"Vision: While I'm confident I can counter this strange broadcast, it will only be in a limited area around me. Thor: Bah. Perhaps Mjolnir is the better solution. Beast: *Sigh* Yes, go beat the mind control out of the Kree population, Thor." - Secret Avengers 27

"Blind Al: Why do you constantly call me when you can't find something? Do you simply enjoy making fun of the disabled or--Deadpool: Because Al, blind people can see what normal people can't, duh. Geez... watch a kung fu movie.Blind Al: I can't. I'm blind." - Thunderbolts Vol. 2 Issue 10

"It starts every passage with "And so it came to pass", and goes on to read as if someone is trying to pretend they can be the King George edition and failing at actually grasping the writing of it.
Also, there's this amazing moment where it says that the people who rebelled against God were "cursed with dark skin".
Really?
You're not even going to try and hide it?" - Ganderath

"Relinquisher: The only reason I'm staying up is because of you.
Petite Fleur: Go to bed.
Relinquisher: No, because you want me to stay up.
Petite Fleur: Say the words. Say you want this. Nothing happens till I hear you say it.
Relinquisher: I want this." - Skype 2013

Jace: Let me get this straight. You came here to apologize to me?

Clary: Of course I did.

Jace: Clary, you saved my life.

Clary: I stabbed you. With a massive sword. You caught on fire. - City Of Lost Souls

"Shut up. I can do this. I'm a ******* Superhero. I didn't condemn myself to burning in Hell for the rest of eternity for nothing, you hear me?" Sistah Spooky - Empowered Volume 5

Ninjette: So, how exactly do I end up dying?

Demongoat: I will not tell you that. But I will tell you this: as you would see it now and as you will see it, at the moment of your death, you will die well, Kozue.

Ninjette: Huh. Well, that's nice.

Demongoat: But long after you are dead, and this city is ashes and your species is extinct and this planet is a graveyard, and every star in its sky has gone dark, and all the universe beyond is lifeless and still I will carry your memory with me, perfect in every detail, into the next universe. - Empowered Volume 7

"Gentlemen, they say when you die you can't take it with you. Which begs the question: Exactly what am I gonna do with all these bullets?" - The Punisher (Secret Wars #1)

"Okay, so I'm not a good pickpocket, but when you think about it, bad guys are good pickpockets, so it's a win." - Gwen Stacy(Spider-Verse Vol 2 #1)

Sanctuary: Not Kara, you're only delaying the inevitable. Stop resisting and I'll make your demise easy and painless. Well, painless is a relative term. I can at least promise that I won't take any pleasure in your screams of agony. I'm not rude.

Supergirl: Trying to kill me over a miscalculation isn't rude?

Sanctuary: As these neural-scions will attest, I am the pinnacle of Kryptonian technology. I do not make miscalculations.

Supergirl: You're making one right now.

Sanctuary: Oh? And what is that?

Supergirl: *Punching neural-scion* That I'll ever go down without a fight.

Sanctuary: You mean the 99.87% probability that you'd try punching your way to a resolution? Yes, that's why I filled the neural-scions with a bonding agent. No offense, but you're really not much of a thinker.

How I started: It's by Junji Ito and I was in the mood for some horror manga.

Like: I have mixed feelings about it. A lot of Junji Ito's stuff (that I've read) feels like it's driven by implausible coincidences and silly premises. Normally, this doesn't bother me, but in Gyo things were too over-the-top for it to have an effect on me. Also, I don't think the story was helped by the background explanations of the phenomenon; they just seemed to set back the pace and only made mundane (overstatement on my part) what could have remained mysterious.

Ending: Not particularly good.

Recommend: Not unless you're a fan of Ito. Just read his other stuff, like Uzumaki or the following short story.

Name: The Enigma of Amigara Falls

How I started: I finished reading Gyo and this was a short story included at the end.

Like: Yep, this is what I read Junji Ito for. It's creepy, atmospheric and pervaded with the sense that something much bigger is going on than what is in the story.

Ending: It's so short that this doesn't really matter, but it was good.

How I Started: Mangaupdates genre search -> Include romance, exclude hentai, doujinshi, a bunch of other filters -> sift through all the stuff from last year -> this manga was a tab I didn't close when I was checking through the results.

Like: It's autobiographical. The way these things tend to work, the author shares their inner workings more readily, so I enjoy that.

Ending: Cute. Though of course it's not really an ending rather than a new beginning.

Recommend: If you're okay with LGBT stuff, yes. Some might find it too cutesy and limited in scope I guess.

Just awesome. A must. Also the gateway to most every other Gundam ever.

Entry Barriers: "It's too old." The animation can be off putting to those accustomed to newer stuff.

SpoilerThe Epic

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere S1 and S2

World building up the fucking wazoo, loads of main, always relevant characters, some of the most beautiful OTP collections ever, well thought-out "conflict" sequences, just to name a few. This thing is packed, but ties everything together on a well established foundation. Truly one of the greatest constructed universes in Japanese media.

Entry Barriers: Probably requires research to understand everything i.e., reading the original novels and the prequels, consulting the tumblr/wiki page. https://just-believe.in/ has links to these and other resources.

SpoilerThe Funny One

Humanity Has Declined

One of the greatest satires I've seen so far. Maybe won't appeal to a lot of people. but picks apart some flaws of mankind in a way that just feels spot on.

Yeah yeah, it has the cute girls doing thigns going on but don't let that stop you. It was immensely worth. The delivery of the characters seemed a lot more natural to me than what I see most of the time. Yeah, the timing has to be one of it's greatest points. And it portrays the throes and woes of the workplace so fucking well! Working against the clock, dealing with incompetence. That and there's the details on the anime industry itself AS THE SUBJECT. Wrap that up with a colorful cast and you've got yourself a winner.

Entry Barriers: "Cute girls doing cute things" stigma.

SpoilerTanuki Tales

Uchouten Kazoku

Ah, here we go. I'll explain more later, but for now just...watch.

Entry Barriers: [Placeholder for when someone finds a noteworthy one]

SpoilerCOLOURS

Kyousougiga

Probably the anime with the most visually artistic flair in a long time.

An exemplar for all Japanimation. Indeed, it's quintessentially Japanese. Watching it all come together is fantastic.

The fundamental Wiio's law states that "Communication usually fails, except by accident". The full set of laws is as follows:

1. Communication usually fails, except by accident.- a. If communication can fail, it will.
- b. If communication cannot fail, it still most usually fails.
- c. If communication seems to succeed in the intended way, there's a misunderstanding.
- d. If you are content with your message, communication certainly fails.

2. If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be interpreted in a manner that maximizes the damage.

3. There is always someone who knows better than you what you meant with your message.

4. The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds.- a. The more we communicate, the faster misunderstandings propagate.

5. In mass communication, the important thing is not how things are but how they seem to be.

6. The importance of a news item is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.

7. The more important the situation is, the more probably you forget an essential thing that you remembered a moment ago.

Name:'Uchi no Musume Ni te Dasu Na' (lit. "Don't Meddle with My Daughter")How I started: Found it by accident, thanks to a random TV Tropes link. The artsyle immediately caught my attention and the premise sounded funny.Like: Yes. It's what 'Spinnerette' used to be: a mostly lighthearted parody of the superhero genre. I'm planning to buy it once it releases Stateside, this August.Recommend: It depends. If you're that type that's turned off by fanservice, or if you're easily offended by depictions of sex, don't bother. But if you're okay with it, or if you can overlook that sorta thing? Then, yes.

Ending: Well, the manga was axed. Yet, the ending still was better than in many. And there is an afterword from author!

Recommend: If you are in for mix of drama, love, tragedy, happines (?! ..the one that leaves you with trauma later, but it has it sweet moments too) and despair, with good art and characters who can make decisions, then you better go read it.

Name: Spirit Circle

How I Started: Was looking for some tragedy-drama, straight stuff without harem shojo bender kitchen sports etc.

Like: It started out good. Nice concept. But soon lost its impact.

Ending: Left me indifferent. While reading I didn't realise that the site had missing chapters and it skipped from I think 3rd to 6th, it seemed strange and I was somewhat confused, but well, not the first manga to make one confused, right? I realised it short before end and was left without misteries behind stuff explained.

Recommend: In the end I didn't bother to check for the missing volumes.

Name: Aku no Hana

How I Started: Like with the previous one.

Like: Well, yeah, it was a sick ride.

Ending: The ending itself wasn't that heavy, not the reason itself for reding it. It could have ended in certain other point. If you read it you will know.

Recommend: Yes, if you are in for something sick in terms of shounen manga (I think concerning age of characters, not really of audience), at least I didn't read something like this before. It's of highschool life/slice of life genere but at points it made me terrified. No, no gore or anything, just wth. I'd write short summary but it would spoil characteristics of, well.. characters.

Name: Bitter VirginHow I Started: I had always heard it was good and I randomly decided that I was in the mood for a "romance" story and started reading it. Hoo boy, it was not at all what I had expected.Like: Loved. It scratched more than the romance itch I was having because it turned out to have a very serious tone.Ending: I think the ending fit pretty well. It allows me to kind of take the future of the characters as I want to.Recommend: Absolutely, if you like sort of shy romance with a hint of the Psychological genre.

How I Started: I recently made my first trip to Japan. They were celebrating 50 years of Shounen Jump and highlighting the 90s manga. So I decided to take a trip down memory lane with Yu Yu Hakusho and Slam Dunk.

Like: Takehiko Inoue can draw. I mean the art is very much 90s shounen with the pants, facial expressions, delinquents but it's so crisp and detailed even if I think he went a bit overboard on the sweating. The story is underrated, at least it was in my memory. I remember it being good but that was the first read through about 10 years ago. This is a classic in every sense of the word: it pushed the envelope on the sports genre, it is a commercial megahit, it's stands up to re-reads, and it's not a story limited to the 90s.

Ending: There a very few manga that have good endings. Most end too soon, too rushed or just leave you feeling like there's something lacking. Not Slam Dunk, this manga has a great climax and an appropriate ending. Of course as with all great series, I wouldn't be upset to see it continue.

Reccomend: If you haven't read this manga and you like shounen, put in on your must read list. If you've read this series, and it's been a while since the Tensai Hanamichi made you smile, read this series. If you like basketball and hate the NBA right now, read this series. If you're born in the 90s, read this series. If you have free time, read this series.

How I Started: I saw a lot of my friends talking about it, and they recommended it to me.

Like: I love it! It's a very nice slice-of-life romance series that focuses on a guy and a girl who have been best friends since high school. Now that they're in college, the guy decides to get a girlfriend, which makes his friend realize that she may like him more than she originally thought.

How Was the Ending: Satisfying. I won't post any spoilers, but I had no problem with the way this series ended, unlike a lot of other romance series that I've read.

Would You Recommend: Definitely! If you like romance stories, please check this one out! It has honestly become one of my top 5 favorite romance series of all time.

How I started: Popped up on my Amazon suggested list in way of Horror titles.

Like: The series has some thrill to it, as well potential. Though the main story felt like it went on too long, and with there being two side stories that are both short and effective; perhaps this would have been better as some anthology horror on the subject of "Urban Legends."

Ending: For the two short stories, I'd say decent or good. For the main an longer story? Well the ending was meh. While I'll try not to spoil anything. I'll just say that it ended with questions that never got answered or alluded to, and concluded on the notion that people are stupid just so things can go along the way they did IMO.

Recommend: If your a fan of horror or somebody who wants to make horror. Might be worth checking out for where it's good and shows potential. As for everybody else? I'll say that it's a decent read and with it being a short series, you'll be done in 2 hours at the most if you got time to kill. Not the worst thing I've read, but not among the better either.

Show me the way to go home - I'm tired and I want to go to bed

I had a little drink about an hour ago - And it’s gone right to my head